Defense comes up big as Broken Arrow pulls away in second half
By Christian Potts
BROKEN ARROW - Facing a potent Enid offense flexing its muscle both running the ball and throwing the ball to star receiver Tykie Andrews, Broken Arrow's defense found its backs to the wall.
Their team was trailing at halftime and trying to find answers.
And find them they did, with the Tiger defensive unit playing its most complete half of the season, shutting out the Plainsmen in the second half and leading Broken Arrow to a 45-24 victory on Thursday night.
"We needed to stop (Andrews); he's a good player, he was going off and our defense needed to just lock up and we figured out a way to do it," said BA senior defensive lineman Demarius Reynolds.
That came through more pressure on Enid's quarterbacks, and coverage on Andrews that limited him to just four catches for 53 yards in the second half after the senior made big plays all over the field that led to triple that yardage before halftime.
Leading 24-21 at the half on three touchdown catches from Andrews, the Plainsmen crossed midfield three times in five drives after halftime but were turned away each time, twice on downs, twice on turnovers, and they punted the other time.
Broken Arrow's offense kicked into gear as well, behind its multi-pronged rushing attack.
Kayden Jones rushed 16 times for 135 yards and a score. Kaibre Harris carried for 37 yards and also caught a 61-yard touchdown pass, and Nate Jones added 90 yards on nine carries and a touchdown, as the Tigers finished with a combined 321 rushing yards from all of their ball carriers.
"We really depended on the run, and just being able to have three different running backs is big," said Nate Jones, a senior. "The running backs are always with each other, during practice, off the field; I feel like we've built kind of like a brotherhood."
Jones gave the Tigers their first lead of the night on a bruising 13-yard score that made it 28-24 midway in the third quarter. That play came after the Tigers forced a fumble by Enid's Luke Rauh on a fourth-down play, with Auztin Newell returning it into Enid territory.
Enid again drove into Tiger territory the next series, behind the tough running of Rauh. But the Tigers held the Plainsmen at their own 31, then drove the field before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Hunter Martens and a 31-24 lead.
Reynolds made a huge play to stop the next Enid drive, intercepting Bennett Percival and returning it to the Enid 17.
It's a defensive lineman's dream to get the chance for an interception, with Reynolds reading the screen pass attempt perfectly.
"I just saw the ball and the players in front of me," Reynolds said. "There was one like it I missed in practice and I dropped it, and I said I'm not going to miss it twice, and I just happened to get a chance in a game, and I got it."
Two plays later, the Tigers were back in the end zone, with quarterback Owen Jones sneaking in from a yard out for a 38-24 lead.
The Tigers held Enid again midway in the fourth and got a strike through the air, with Jones hitting Kayleb Barnett for a 37-yard score five minutes from the finish to cap the scoring.
Andrews and Rauh, who have been the offensive production leaders all season for Enid, were as good as ever Thursday.
Andrews gashed the Tigers for 12 catches for 216 yards and first-half touchdowns of 21, 6 and 60 yards. Rauh, running behind a physical offensive line, carried 28 times for 158 yards.
Both teams employed multple-quarterback offenses that each were largely effective.
The Tigers' Owen Jones completed 12-of-14 passes for 181 yards and two scores. Cooper Bates attempted only one pass but was effective running the ball, carrying for 58 yards and a touchdown that tied the game late in the first half.
Enid's Aidan Robinson was 10-of-19 for 151 yards and two of the scores to Andrews. Percival completed 4-of-5 for 90 yards and the other score to Andrews, but also threw the one costly interception.
It was a positive result for a Tiger squad that had given up 255 points through seven games - 36.4 points per game - to see their defense come through to help put the game away.
The Plainsmen have shown great improvement since former Oklahoma State standout Rashaun Woods arrived as head coach in 2019.
They lost every game that season, then officially made the playoffs during the Covid-affected 2020 season, when every team in the state was eligible, regardless of record. The last time the Plainsmen had reached postseason prior to that was 2009, when the Plainsmen fell 45-13 to Broken Arrow to finish 6-5.
Enid went 6-4 the next season but has only had one other season with more than three wins in the previous 12 years since, until this season's effort.
This Plainsmen team will be reaching the 6AI playoffs even with tonight's defeat, which dropped them to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the district standings.
Broken Arrow, now 3-5 and 3-2 in the district, will be in the playoffs as well. Despite a brutal early schedule that saw their record suffer while playing powerhouses in Tulsa Union, Owasso, Bixby and Bentonville (Ark.), the Tigers still haven't lessened their goals any.
They're trying to go 1-0 each week, Reynolds said, and this coming week is a big one against rival Jenks.
"We're going to hit the film and get ready for them," Reynolds said. "It's a rivalry, I just can't wait to play against them."
